BAMBOO SHOOTSWorks of fiction and poetry by friends of Bamboo Ridge Press.

Richard Melendez is the Managing Editor for Abstract Magazine, and his writing credits also include INhonolulu Magazine, InsideOut Hawaii, Where Guestbook, and Pacific Business News. His short story “Inertia” will appear in the upcoming Bamboo Ridge #104. He is a Puerto Rican by blood, a Long Islander by birth, and has called Hawai‘i home for over 20 years.

THIS IS A 100 WORDS CONTEST ENTRY

Gloss

Polyester blouse with lavender flowers. Feminine looking slacks. Pumps. Lip gloss. Blush. Lisa hated wearing this crap. Was this for her dad’s sake or her mom’s? It’d didn’t really matter. It will help keep the peace, she reminded herself.

Maxine put her arms around her. “You look hot, babe.”

Lisa shrugged. “Thanks,” she replied, while thinking she looked like the proverbial pig in lipstick. “I really wish you could come, too.” Maxine didn’t speak. She just sighed and nuzzled her face into Lisa’s neck.

It will help keep the peace, she told herself, again. But she felt anything but peaceful.

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FEATURED ISSUE

Sun: Short Stories & DramaISBN: 0-910043-02-7This landmark collection, published in 1980, is the first fiction and drama collection by a local Chinese writer. The stories include classics such as "Beer Can Hat" as well as experimental pieces and "Oranges Are Lucky," a one-act play that revolves around the generational differences between a Chinese-speaking grandmother and her English-speaking grandchildren. This collection established Lum’s signature pidgin narratives that have since become favorites among Hawai‘i readers. "In a world that is forgetting and rejecting its past, separate voices may preserve what little is left or create a new heritage. Darrell H.Y. Lum’s work demonstrates that mainlanders can comprehend pidgin and that island writers, in either pidgin or standard English, have something to say to everyone."—The Paper